March 2006

Ben Arment got his hands on the Catalyst Brochure for this year. Ben isn’t excited about the lineup, but I think it looks pretty darn good: Andy Stanley, Kevin Carroll, John Maxwell, Louie Giglio, Donald Miller, Rick McKinley, John Stott, Marcus Buckingham, George Barna, and Gary Haugen.
Hey Catalyst, I know you’ve read this blog before. [...]

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NT Wright is a book writing machine these days. I just ran across Simply Christian, which was published this month. Yet another one to add to the wish list.
I just did some calculations, and if my wish list were printed out and the pages placed end to end, it could circle the earth three [...]

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The goal of a disciple of Jesus is relationship, not perfection.
In Jesus Creed, Scot McKnight uses this phrase to introduce a chapter. Though some might need to stop and think about it, I would imagine that most Jesus followers would not struggle with that statement. He explains it further on the next page:
a disciple [...]

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Introducing… inbreaking.com
I’ve become a fan of the social bookmarking websites that are springing up such as Digg and del.icio.us. I’ve found some of notable and helpful links through what others have posted on these sites. So, when I stumbled on a digg lookalike script called pligg, I decided to give it a try and inbreaking.com [...]

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One of the things that has struck me in the process of raising children is just how much I hear about what they suggest is best for your child. No one really knows who they are. When we were at the hospital, we kept hearing nurses and doctors tell us about they. As the hospital [...]

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(This is a continuation of the revernaculation series, which I intend to pick up from time to time. Here are the previous posts: go to heaven, relationship with Jesus and knows the word.)
It is a shame that the word Torah is commonly translated today as the “Law”. This poor translation is one of the biggest [...]

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This past weekend, we stole Rob Bell’s idea and did a silent sermon. Rather than listen to a sermon, those in our worship gathering reflected on thoughts shared on the screen. I’ve involved in a few different settings now where we used this, and it has been a meaningful experience every time.
If you’d like to [...]

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I can’t believe I’m saying this… I think I enjoy yardwork.
I’ve never liked it before. The yard was always that stupid thing that required maintenance to stay attractive — and attractive is a very relative term here.
But I have a new appreciation for it being in the Northwest. I trimmed back dead growth from [...]

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I marvel at how NT Wright to write so much, so well, and so thoughtfully. The Last Word is one of hos most recent publications and it continues the trend. The subtitle pretty well sums up what the book is about: Beyond the Bible Wars to a New Understanding of the Authority of Scripture.
The [...]

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I arise today
Through a mighty strength,
the invocation of the Trinity,
Through the belief in the threeness
Through the confession of the oneness
Of the Creator of Creation.
I arise today
Through the strength of Christ’s birth
whith his baptism,
Through the strength of his crucifixion
with his burial,
Through the strength of his resurrection
with his ascension,
Through the strength of his descent
for the judgment of [...]

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I got a copy of the Jewish Publication Society Torah Commentary on Exodus in the mail today. It is a $65 book, but I found one used for $20 on Amazon last week. I’m thrilled about it even though about half the pages are crumpled some on the top.
I already own the Genesis [...]

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While rereading Blue Like Jazz, this quote jumped out at me. It resonates with me, but I’ve probably also been guilty of what he says:
Here are the things I didn’t like about the churches I went to. First: I felt like the people were trying to sell me Jesus. I was a salesman for a [...]

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While reading The Witness of Preaching, by Thomas Long, this morning, I came across an idea I have never seen before. He describes how every sermon should have both a focus and a function.
The focus is what is often called the thesis statement, or the big idea. It is a single sentence that sums [...]

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I’ve been in several settings recently where the topic of what gives someone authority has come up. It has been quite eye opening to see what a diversity of views people have about this subject. On one end, some believe that authority comes with position — they might not want to say that outright, but [...]

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